Q&A with James Collins, South West Winner of BIID Awards 22

Please tell us about Zelah Studio and your design ethos?

Zelah Studio is an award-winning, multi-disciplinary design practice based in Cornwall. We aim to deliver architectural & interior projects with a designer's eye.

Working closely with our clients, our skills and experience make us specialists in creating design-led building alterations, and architectural & interior design solutions. We pride ourselves in offering a professional, friendly & hands-on approach to create truly unique & effective spaces that suit every budget.

Our team's broad creative experience allows them to offer a complete service that covers everything from concept design, through planning applications to completion.

Congratulations on your win at the BIID Interior Design Awards for your Verdant Brewing Company project - please tell us about the project?

Local brewery, Verdant Brewing Company in Penryn, Cornwall, approached us to help facilitate their move into a large industrial unit in Penryn, Cornwall. The new unit was run down and needed a complete overhaul to bring it into the 21st century.

The brief was to develop the building to allow the production side of the business to flourish in a highly functional factory with massively increased capacity. Also, to deliver a public space in the form of the Tap Room that would allow the local community to feel part of the business.

We worked closely with the team at Verdant to design & develop the working layout of the whole brewery. Within the unit, we plotted the layout & installation of the brew house, brewery working layouts and the design and installation of the staff quarters, lab and workshop. This was then followed by the design and installation of the staff offices and Taproom Bar.

The interior of the offices and tap room were built around a new steel frame installation and steel framed glazing, alongside natural materials to provide a light and contemporary interior space. Views from the public spaces into the working brewery were paramount to the design.

What elements of sustainable design did you incorporate into the project?

It was key for Verdant to develop a more sustainable building and to involve as many local suppliers and trades people as possible.

We facilitated the 65kw solar installation that will provide all the power to the brewery and provide staff with free to use charging points when surplus energy is produced. We increased the insulation in the occupied areas to highly efficient levels and installed a heat recovery system to minimise heating requirements.

In terms of materiality we tried to minimise the introduction of too many materials, relying on existing elements of the industrial structure. Sustainably sourced ply formed the basis for most of the internal structures and furniture.

Please tell us about some of your favourite or stand-out features in the project?

I personally like the juxtaposition of the ‘bleached’ look of the birch ply against the deep grey/black tone used throughout. This is particularly strong on the toilet block with its intricate 45degree joinery.

I am also a big fan of how the Crittall window aesthetic works with the exposed metal work of the new structure. We wanted the interior to feel like it has been there for ever, rather than a retro fit, and these raw materials helped develop that language.

What prompted you to enter the BIID Awards?

We are a new company and I was keen to expose our work to a wider audience. The BIID offered a very accessible platform for us to showcase our team’s work. As a small company, you don’t know when the next big job is going to come in so it is important to take these opportunities when you can.

What does wining the BIID Interior Design awards mean to you?

We were thrilled to be announced as the winner in the South West Region at the BIID Interior Design Awards last year. It was a fantastic opportunity for us to show our team’s incredible work on an outstanding project. The BIID award scheme reflects the supportive and rewarding community we all work in and provides an opportunity for unknown projects and small teams to have their moment to shine. After 3 years of work it was just fantastic to have some recognition for all involved.

Enter the BIID Interior Design Awards 23